FOMC: Acknowledging tighter financial conditions – Goldman Sachs

FXStreet (Delhi) – Research Team at Goldman Sachs, suggests that the statement following the FOMC meeting acknowledged the recent tightening of financial conditions and risks from international developments, and noted that these factors could affect the risks around the outlook.

Key Quotes

“Assuming a modest improvement in financial market conditions, we expect the committee to follow through with a rate hike in March.

MAIN POINTS:

• The January FOMC statement explicitly acknowledged risks stemming from international developments and the recent tightening of financial conditions, noting that the committee is “closely monitoring” their implications for the economy. In addition, the statement said that Fed officials were “assessing the implications” of these developments “for the balance of risks to the outlook”.

• The statement’s language on economic activity was slightly more downbeat than in December. The statement also noted that household spending and business fixed investment were increasing at “moderate” rather than “solid” rates, and that that “inventory investment slowed”. However, the committee noted that “labor market conditions improved further” and “underutilization of labor resources” declined.

• Inflation language was slightly more dovish, acknowledging that inflation was expected “to remain low in the near term, in part because of the further declines in energy prices”.

• In the annual release of the committee’s Longer-Run Goals and Policy Strategy, the committee reaffirmed its 2 percent inflation target, but introduced a passage that it “would be concerned if inflation were running persistently above or below this objective”.”
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